


Seared Feathers

by LetsGoBeTheGoodGuys



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 14:50:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19297954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetsGoBeTheGoodGuys/pseuds/LetsGoBeTheGoodGuys
Summary: Set after the season 14 finale. When Jack was killed, a memory of his son's death was burned into Cas' heart - and seared across his hand.





	Seared Feathers

“Cas?” Jack called, his voice floating to Cas from the hallway.

“In here,” Cas said. In a moment, Jack appeared in Cas’ bedroom doorway. Jack had been back for a few days, but Cas still found himself fighting back tears as he looked at his son’s face. Cas could still remember the sound of Jack’s screams as he was dying. He could still remember watching Jack’s eyes burn out and he could still feel the horror of knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it. Cas was afraid to even blink around Jack now. Afraid the illusion of Jack being alive again would disappear and he would open his eyes to see Jack dead in front of him. “What is it, Jack?” Cas asked softly.

Jack walked over and sat next to Cas on his bed. “I just wanted to be with you,” Jack said. Like it was so simple. Like it wasn’t a tremendous gift for Cas to be able to see Jack again. Like it didn’t mean everything in the universe for Cas to sit side-by-side again with the son he had lost.

But Cas couldn’t say any of that, so he just nodded, finally tearing his gaze away from Jack. He looked down at his hands, rubbing at the smudgy black marks on the backs of his fingers. His left hand had been on the ground when Jack died, when the nephilim’s wings had fallen, burned into the earth. His seared feathers had burned across Cas’ hand, leaving it blackened along with the grass at the cemetery. Cas had tried to scrub off the marks when he and the Winchesters had fought their way back to the bunker. There was so much fighting still to do. There were plans to make. But Cas had needed to wash the reminder of Jack’s death off of his body. He went to the bathroom and turned the water on hot, his tears dripping into the sink drain as he scratched and rubbed at his fingers until they ached. The soap and water did nothing. Cas had collapsed on to the ground and not stood up again until Dean found him crumpled on the bathroom floor.

“I can fix that.” Jack’s voice broke through Cas’ memory, making Cas jerk his head up in surprise. Jack was here. Jack was here and he was alive.

“What?” Cas asked finally, realizing he hadn’t paid attention to what Jack said.

“Your fingers,” Jack said. His voice was quiet. “I can fix them.” The nephilim reached toward Cas but the angel stood quickly and stepped away from the bed.

“I, uh… I’m sorry, Jack.” Cas looked at Jack. The boy stood, his head tilted in confusion. “I tried to get this off. But it didn’t work. And I decided that I needed this reminder.”

“Reminder for what?” Jack asked.

“A reminder of how… how I failed you. Jack, if I had been here for you more, if I had tried harder, if I-”

“Cas,” Jack’s voice was louder now, firm. “There was nothing more you could have done.”

Cas blinked harshly. Jack’s gaze was so earnest. This boy seemed so wise sometimes that it startled Cas to remember how little time he had spent on earth.

“You were the only one who always believed in me,” Jack continued. “You did everything a father should do.”

Cas looked away from Jack. Hearing Jack refer to him as a father was overwhelming. Cas should have saved him, he should have -

Jack grabbed Cas’ left hand gently. “Please, Cas,” Jack said. “You don’t deserve to carry this.”

Cas nodded. He closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of Jack’s grace flow into his hand, healing it, restoring his skin to the way it had been. Cas opened his eyes and looked at his hand. There was no trace of the burn from Jack’s wing.

Cas looked up at Jack who smiled at him. Cas’ heart twisted. He hadn’t truly known what loss was until the first time he thought he would never see Jack’s smile again. He pulled Jack into a quick hug, wrapping his arms tightly around the boy - holding his son close.

“I love you, Jack.”


End file.
